The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast

Michael Palmer
  • 4.8 (85)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast is a weekly show to help increase your confidence, work smarter and build a business you love. Each week you'll listen to inspiring guests who will share their success secrets, so you can take your bookkeeping enterprise and life to another level. Some of them include New York Times Best-Selling Author of E-Myth, Michael E. Gerber, Pure Bookkeeping Co-Founder, Debbie Roberts, the host of The Productive Woman podcast, Laura McClellan and the author of *I Know How She Does It*, Laura Vanderkam. If you're a bookkeeping business owner who is looking for an uplifting, entertaining and informative podcast exclusively for YOU then you have arrived at the right place! Get ready because your journey towards success begins — now. Your Host Michael Palmer is an acclaimed business coach who has helped hundreds of bookkeepers across the world push through their fears and exponentially grow their businesses and achieve the quality of life they've always wanted.

  1. 1D AGO

    EP518: Teresa Slack - The Road To A Million-Dollar Bookkeeping Business - Part 3

    "You can have all the great checklists and all the great systems for quality bookkeeping and you can hire all the right people, but if you don't know how to price your services, you are going to fail. You will not be profitable." –Teresa Slack In part three of this four-part series, Teresa Slack, co-founder of Financly Bookkeeping Solutions, shares the phase where momentum finally began to build. After resetting the firm, she and her sister shifted their focus to working on the business, not just surviving inside it, and made real progress through uncomfortable pricing conversations, focused implementation time, and disciplined investment in systems and training. In this episode, you'll learn: Why systems alone are not enough without proper pricing The difference between fixed pricing & true value pricing How Teresa increased prices & discovered clients were willing to pay To learn more about Teresa, click here  and email her at teresa.slack@teresaslack.ca. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Learn more about Pure Bookkeeping. Subscribe to the Value Pricing Academy YouTube channel. Join VIP list for free training from Mark Wickersham here.  Get your free copy of How to Price Bookkeeping eBook (the tool she used to turn her business around). Click here to join the VPA on Skool platform free training and support. Time Stamps 00:54 – Entering the phase where momentum begins to build 02:29 – Why poor pricing guarantees failure, even with great systems 03:29 – Fixed pricing versus value pricing explained 04:22 – Presenting higher prices & hearing clients say yes 05:47 – Making large investments without feeling ready 06:40 – Closing Fridays to work on the business 08:17 – Turning training into real results through implementation 09:35 – Fixing pricing mistakes & rebuilding confidence 12:02 – Hiring experienced bookkeepers using structured systems 13:56 – Why skills alone are not enough without the right mindset 18:09 – Building a training process that sets staff up for success 20:16 – Repricing existing clients & facing the fear 22:09 – Increasing revenue by 45 percent in six weeks 23:27 – Losing the wrong clients & moving forward stronger 24:16 – What's coming in the final episode Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    25 min

  2. FEB 10

    EP517: Teresa Slack - The Road To A Million-Dollar Bookkeeping Business - Part 2

    "We can do hard things even though you're afraid, even though you don't know if it's going to work. You have to try. You have to do different things and you will fail. And that's part of the growth. Part of the learning is to not be afraid to take that leap." –Teresa Slack In part two of this four-part series, Teresa Slack, co-founder of Financly Bookkeeping Solutions, shares the breaking point that forced her and her sister to reset their firm. With the business no longer working, they made hard calls that led to Financly 2.0, including letting staff go, rebuilding client trust, and investing money they didn't have into systems, coaching, and pricing education. In this episode, you'll learn: How poor hiring & hourly pay created bigger losses as the firm grew The difference between fixed pricing & true value pricing How investing in systems &coaching changed how they viewed their value To learn more about Teresa, click here and email her at teresa.slack@teresaslack.ca. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Learn more about Pure Bookkeeping. Subscribe to the Value Pricing Academy YouTube channel. Join VIP list for free training from Mark Wickersham here.  Get your free copy of How to Price Bookkeeping eBook (the tool she used to turn her business around). Click this link to join the VPA on Skool platform free training and support. Time Stamps 01:19 – Hitting the breaking point & questioning whether to continue 01:43 – Deciding to rebuild the firm from the ground up 02:23 – Investing in systems & support with no margin for error 02:44 – Letting staff go & repairing client relationships 03:56 – Realizing pricing was a major problem 04:52 – Discovering value pricing for the first time 05:13 – Rolling out fixed packages & why it made things worse 06:11 – Paying staff more than clients were paying the firm 06:57 – Committing to hard changes & doing things differently 07:40 – Investing in pricing education despite fear 08:14 – Learning to believe in the value of bookkeeping work 09:35 – Having pricing conversations without panic 11:18 – Why systems & hiring processes became the turning point 15:04 – What's coming next in part three Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    16 min

  3. FEB 3

    EP516: Teresa Slack - The Road To A Million-Dollar Bookkeeping Business - Part 1

    "The mission was always to build a million dollar bookkeeping firm. Our goal was to grow a large bookkeeping firm with clients and staff across Canada. That's what we wanted to do. And that's kind of what we are now."  –Teresa Slack In part one of this special four-part series, Teresa Slack, co-founder of Financly Bookkeeping Solutions, shares the honest story of launching a virtual bookkeeping firm in 2014 with big goals, low pricing, and no clear path to profit. She shares how her business grew fast and looked successful on paper, but behind the scenes the pressure was intense as underpricing, early hiring, and years without owner pay slowly drained the firm and took a personal toll. In this episode, you'll learn: Why rapid client growth exposed serious pricing & margin issues What really happens when you hire staff before fixing your business model How fear, stress & lack mindset show up when owners stop paying themselves To learn more about Teresa, click here & email her at teresa.slack@teresaslack.ca. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Learn more about Pure Bookkeeping. Subscribe to the Value Pricing Academy YouTube channel. Join VIP list for free training from Mark Wickersham here.  Get your free copy of How to Price Bookkeeping eBook (the tool Teresa used to turn her business around). Click here to join the VPA on Skool platform free training & support. Time Stamps 01:14 – Launching a virtual bookkeeping firm in 2014 03:15 – Using cloud tools & early adoption of QuickBooks Online 03:35 – Running free financial literacy seminars to attract clients 04:01 – Growing from five clients to dozens across bookkeeping, tax & consulting 04:21 – Feeling overwhelmed & deciding to hire staff 05:09 – Charging hourly rates that left no room for profit 06:06 – Paying staff & overhead while taking no income 07:03 – Driving hours to Toronto to build a client base 08:25 – Why the numbers looked good but the business wasn't healthy 08:44 – The original vision to build a million-dollar firm 09:50 – Not getting paid & questioning personal success 10:34 – Realizing they needed help but feeling unable to afford it 11:16 – Fear, lack mindset & pulling from savings to make payroll 12:39 – The emotional strain of running a business with a sibling 13:18 – Creating "business hat" conversations to manage conflict 14:20 – Keeping communication open during stressful seasons 14:43 – What's coming next in part two Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    16 min

  4. JAN 27

    EP515: Jonathan Stark - Why Hourly Billing Is Holding Your Bookkeeping Firm Back

    "The hardest thing is to not try and solve their problem in the sales interview, just listen to the business case, and then come up with clever ways to achieve that business case really as easily as you possibly can. So you're looking for smaller projects, not bigger projects. It's, it's a complete mind shift." -Jonathan Stark Jonathan Stark,  author of Hourly Billing is Nuts, breaks down why hourly billing holds you back. He shares how shifting to value-based pricing changes your income, your clients, and your time. Jonathan explains how writing, teaching, and niching help you stand out, and why clients buy outcomes, peace of mind, and confidence, not hours. In this interview, you'll also learn: Why hourly billing rewards inefficiency & limits growth What mindset shifts you need to stop selling time How specialization & authority support higher pricing To learn more about Jonathan, click here. Get a copy of his book, Hourly Billing Is Nuts, at this link. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 00:58 – Why hourly billing is nuts & how Jonathan discovered it 04:00 – Discovering value-based fees & applying them in year one 05:40 – Breaking the habit of scoping during sales calls 09:18 – Pricing options based on outcomes, not deliverables 11:30 – How fixed pricing improves trust & client behavior 16:21 – Connecting your work to revenue growth or cost reduction 18:55 – Selling peace of mind as a measurable outcome 20:58 – Why working fewer hours should not mean earning less 22:31 – How AI & automation increase value, not risk 25:35 – Why predictable pricing benefits both you & your clients 29:00 – Identifying what different clients truly value 31:09 – Letting go of poor-fit clients to grow sustainably 36:10 – Why Jonathan wrote Hourly Billing Is Nuts 38:57 – Books that support the shift away from hourly billing 42:17 – What it means to "own your authority" 44:25 – Why being different matters more than being cheaper 47:07 – Using specialization to escape price competition 48:57 – Writing as a long-term growth strategy 50:12 – Where to find Jonathan's free resources Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    52 min

  5. JAN 22

    EP514: Spotlight - Syvonia Brown - Emotional Intelligence Every Bookkeeper Needs

    "Slow down. I think we move so fast and we're trying to go in straight to the solution and there could be multiple things that the customer needs and we miss opportunities when we move too fast." -Syvonia Brown  In this Spotlight episode, Syvonia Brown, Director of Sales at Sage 50 US, talks about emotional intelligence and why it matters more than most bookkeepers realize. She shares practical ways to handle tough client conversations, slow down reactive thinking, and build trust without taking on unnecessary stress. In this interview, you'll learn: How active listening changes difficult client conversations Why silence can be a powerful communication tool How to show empathy without absorbing client emotion To learn more about Syvonia, click here. Explore Sage at this link. Time Stamp 01:20 – What emotional intelligence really means in client work 02:10 – Checking in with yourself before client conversations 02:55 – Why jumping to solutions causes problems 04:25 – Using silence to help clients feel heard 05:17 – Simple techniques to avoid filling the silence 06:46 – Phone, video, or email how & tone changes everything 10:42 – Empathy without taking issues personally 12:21 – Why apologizing can make things worse 14:06 – De-escalating upset clients without matching their tone 16:14 – Taking accountability when mistakes happen 18:30 – Handling issues when you don't know the full story 20:01 – Embedding emotional intelligence into firm culture 21:22 – Training teams to lead with empathy 23:21 – How emotional intelligence drives loyalty & referrals 25:29 – Practical habits bookkeepers can apply immediately Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    29 min

  6. JAN 20

    EP513: Salim Omar - The Smart Way To Exit Without Burning It Down

    " Selling is not necessarily the answer. Exit can mean continuing to be part of it, but in a different way." –Salim Omar In this episode, Salim Omar, CPA and author of The CPA Firm Exit Playbook, shares what it takes to build a firm that works without constant owner involvement. Drawing from 30 years as a firm owner, Salim explains how systems, marketing, and leadership shape firm value and future options. In this interview, you'll learn: Why owner dependency limits growth & firm value How systems & teams prepare your firm for the next chapter What buyers actually look for in an accounting firm To learn more about Salim, click here. Get a copy of his book, The CPA Firm Exit Playbook. Connect with him on LinkedIn. Time Stamp 01:49 – Salim's journey from CFO to firm owner 04:22 – Discovering The E-Myth & changing how he ran his firm 06:03 – Shifting from technician to business owner 08:49 – Leading with curiosity & leaving ego behind 12:37 – Why Salim wrote The CPA Firm Exit Playbook 14:14 – The biggest exit planning mistakes firm owners make 16:15 – Removing owner dependency years before selling 18:21 – Why growth & marketing matter to buyers 22:49 – Education-based marketing & attracting better clients 29:01 – Redefining exit without fully stepping away 30:59 – Straight Talk Transitions & available resources Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    33 min

  7. JAN 13

    EP512: Sharrin Fuller - Scaling Smarter: Why Systems Matter More Than Headcount

    " We need to do things that the other people aren't doing because that's how you make ways, that's how you revolutionize, that's how you pave a new path for the other people that think like you, but maybe don't have the strength at this point yet to pave the way." -Sharrin Fuller In this episode, Sharrin Fuller, strategic advisor and founder of Glass Wallet Ventures, shares why she believes the future of bookkeeping is client-facing, relationship-driven, and systemized. She breaks down how she scaled smarter, reduced her team, embraced technology, and rebuilt her firm to run smoothly with less effort. Sharrin also shares the thinking behind her book, Unfollow The Rules: The Messy Truth About Burnout, Bad Decisions And Building Until It Worked and why challenging traditional models matters more than ever for firm owners. In this interview, you'll learn: Why scaling smarter beats hiring more staff How technology replaces tasks but not relationships What bookkeepers must do to stay relevant as AI advances To learn more about Sharrin, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Buy her book, Unfollow The Rules, at this link. Time Stamp 00:00 – Why only client-facing roles matter in the future 01:03 – Sharrin's career journey & building multiple firms 03:47 – What inspired her book Unfollow The Rules 11:23 – Scaling smarter without adding people 12:23 – Reducing a team from 12 to 2 without losing clients 14:45 – Challenging traditional business models 19:53 – How to decide what to outsource or automate 24:08 – The downside of fast-changing technology 27:56 – What Sharrin is building next & where to find her  Your expertise has more value than you think, so Own Your Authority at The Successful Bookkeeper Summit 2026! It's a high-energy two-day virtual experience for bookkeepers ready to lead with confidence and elevate their impact. Join inspiring leaders on November 4th–5th to gain actionable strategies, powerful tools, and the clarity to shape the work you want, not just keep up with it. Don't miss this incredible opportunity! REGISTER TODAY!

    33 min

  8. JAN 8

    EP511: Spotlight - Tommy Vincent - How AI Is Changing Analytics For Bookkeepers

    "Your data is good to go. Customer comes into Hub Analytics and starts chatting with the chat bot to ask questions about the data, get visualized charts and graphs, and really have kind of this virtual CFO experience, which is cool." -Tommy Vincent Tommy Vincent, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Hub Analytics, returns to explain how AI is reshaping analytics, advisory, and the bookkeeper's role. He shares how data diagnostics improve pricing confidence, why early forecasting matters, and how AI tools give clients clearer financial insight without added complexity. In this interview, you'll learn: How AI checks bookkeeping work in seconds & catches errors early Why forward-looking analytics matter more than past reports How to deliver CFO-level insight without becoming a CFO To learn more about Hub Analytics, click here. Connect with Tommy on LinkedIn. Time Stamp 00:00 - How AI scans bookkeeping data & flags issues 02:13 - Why AI fits naturally into accounting & finance 05:01 - Using AI to validate work & reduce review time 06:22 - Moving from historical reports to forward-looking insight 08:37 - Why many bookkeepers don't want to deliver CFO services 09:13 - How the Hub Analytics partner program works 11:45 - Using data diagnostics to check & price new clients 14:22 - Catching errors & unknowns before onboarding 16:10 - Why small businesses need forecasting earlier 19:36 - Cash flow forecasting & scenario planning 20:34 - Using AI chat tools as a virtual CFO 22:32 - Turning insights into real business decisions 25:02 - How bookkeepers stay connected to advisory work 29:57 - Making CFO-level insight affordable for small businesses 32:14 - How to get started with Hub Analytics

    34 min
See All (518)

4.8
out of 5
85 Ratings

About

The Successful Bookkeeper Podcast is a weekly show to help increase your confidence, work smarter and build a business you love. Each week you'll listen to inspiring guests who will share their success secrets, so you can take your bookkeeping enterprise and life to another level. Some of them include New York Times Best-Selling Author of E-Myth, Michael E. Gerber, Pure Bookkeeping Co-Founder, Debbie Roberts, the host of The Productive Woman podcast, Laura McClellan and the author of *I Know How She Does It*, Laura Vanderkam. If you're a bookkeeping business owner who is looking for an uplifting, entertaining and informative podcast exclusively for YOU then you have arrived at the right place! Get ready because your journey towards success begins — now. Your Host Michael Palmer is an acclaimed business coach who has helped hundreds of bookkeepers across the world push through their fears and exponentially grow their businesses and achieve the quality of life they've always wanted.

Information

You Might Also Like